The highlight of my day is thinking of ways to turn cynical thoughts into pragmatic action in a sort of backhanded way.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Chinese Imports vs California Manufacturing Sector

A previous post describing the need for individuals to change their buying behavior was popular with readers. Essentially it said if we want to usher in change it's not going to be by storming Wall Street or joining OWS, but by our own votes, the votes we make with our dollars and common sense.

Well here's some more food for thought to back up what I was saying before about the rise in imports from foreign countries. (My example used China, there are others, but China is the largest and the issue with them doesn't just merely stem from too much importing, but also that importing means they hold even more US debt, which leaves us in a growing problem of financial powerloss.)

If you do'nt believe me when I had the Chinese imports to China in (kg), then take a look at correlating data from a similar time period (2000-2010) on the wages in the the manufacturing sector.

The drop is around 30% in ten years. Can we afford another 30% in another ten years? I understand we diversify, but there's a huge drop in those employed by the manufacturing sector. IN a time when jobs are at a premium and we're struggling to employ 1 out of every 10 eligible workers, well we gotta find ways to increase local production. We have the human capital but not the policy to employ our own.

Again, all stemming back from the desire for cheap goods and of course, higher profits. We all have apart in this.